After a rude wake-up for an unexpected mission, Chris and Hibiki can finally take the rest of the day for themselves.


Saturday, October 2044
The deafening sound coming from my phone is what woke me up this morning, and no matter how Hibiki's contact is comfortable and relaxing, it will certainly not stop my phone from ringing. Or rather whoever the caller who is trying to reach me, because it's already the second time.

'Better not be one of those two.'

Having enough of it and even more when it begins to stir Hibiki awake, I reach for the item not caring to check whoever the caller is. "What?" I growl-whisper to the caller.

"Ah, Chris-kun." It's the old man. "Sorry for waking you up so early but we are following a lead concerning the Bavarian Illuminati remnants and our teams will probably need you as backup, especially if they encounter Alca-Noise."

"What about the other two? Now that the pipsqueak finally succeeds in creating the LiNKER, they should be able to take on any mission on their own, right?" I grumble, trying to turn my head to check on Hibiki.

"Kirika-kun and Shirabe-kun are probably sore from yesterday's hard training I give them."

'Those idiots, who in their right mind would train a Friday, the beginning of the weekend.' I mentally curse them both before sighing, which the old man obviously heard but said nothing. "Fine," I reluctantly say, passing a hand across my face to try to wake me up.

"Thank you, Chris-kun, a car will be on its way to get you. I will call Hibiki-kun as well."

"Don't bother, she is in bed with me, I will tell her," I say as I stretch my arms carefully enough to not wake Hibiki. "Just make sure the driver sent a text or something to tell us he is here if we are not down yet."

"Eh? Wait, Chris-kun Wha-" I hang up and let the phone drop on the bed but hear it clatters on the floor. 'I guess that it must have bounced off of it.' I muse as I turn my body to lay on my back, then look at my still asleep bedmate.

'Can't believe the ringing of my phone and me talking this close from her didn't wake her up.' I let out a sigh after some moment. 'As much I would love to just lay against her and sleep more, I have to wake her up for us to get ready.'

It's when I try to get away from her that her embraces on me become suddenly tighter, keeping me on the bed as she mumbles that she will not let me get away from her and to resign myself to more cuddle.

"You're awake," I say flatly. It was not a question, just a mere observation, "Since when? No, you know what? Don't care, just release me, the old man needs us, and someone will come to pick us soon, so hurry up and get ready as well."

Hibiki's whines were shut down right away as she reluctantly let go of me, sprawling herself on the bed.

I throw a last glance at her seemingly relaxed form as she smiles at me when she catches my eyes. I return it before heading to the bathroom with my change of clothes.

The driver was here seconds later after we were ready. We manage to stop by C3 on our way to HQ, getting half a dozen of Anpan as our breakfast. Hibiki's attempt to kindly propose one to the driver was gently refused as he had already eaten.

We reach HQ in no time. Hibiki and I quickly change into the S.O.N.G. winter uniform; the uniform which is composed of a navy-blue long-sleeved jacket with sky blue stripe on half the length of the sleeves, a red undershirt for me while Hibiki has a yellow-orange one. The bottom is composed of shorts in the same navy-blue with a brown belt, thick dark grey high stocking with black, and still the same navy-blue high boots. The whole set was completed with black gloves, a small scarf two shades of our theme color, and the jacket harboring the S.O.N.G emblem on the shoulders and the word on its back. Once done, we come to the bridge where the old man was waiting for us.

"We're here, Shishō!" Hibiki announces with her usual enthusiast.

The old man looks at us a bit strangely and I could notice the same about the other staff members except the only woman; Tomosato Aoi, who just smiles at me as if knowing something that I don't, causing me to raise an eyebrow at her.

My attention turns back to the old man faking a cough while straightening himself. "Good, we got a lead concerning a remote facility used by the Bavarian Illuminati and we expect to find members in hiding as well as more information on them. The two of you will be part of the backup team in case they need assistance or of any apparition of Alca-Noise."

"So, if things go in our favor, our help will not be needed and both of us would have wasted our day, right?" I said with a self-deprecating smile.

The old man scoffs at that, "Like you said Chris-kun, only if everything goes in our favor. But since when are we spared from extra trouble?"

"Far too little," I said with Hibiki nodding in agreement.

"And that's why your presence is required, I will rather not lose any men because of a sudden apparition of Alca-Noise and having to call you to go at the place urgently when it could easily be prevented by having you on-site beforehand."

"Don't worry Shishō, Chris-chan and I will do what we have to do," Hibiki says before turning to me. "Let's go Chris-chan!" She then turns and heads out of the room.

Both the old man and I watch Hibiki leaves before he addresses me. "Sooo… You and Hibiki-kun?" His question causes me to look at him in confusion seeing a slight uneasiness on his face.

"Well, her roommate is spending the weekend with her family, so she is spending hers at my place,' I reply.

It seems my answer was not what he was expecting, but he quickly shook his head. "I see, well, better get going before the team leave with just Hibiki-kun as an anti-Alca-Noise force."

"Right, can't let that happen," I smile knowingly while heading out as well.


As expected, things didn't go as planned or wished for. Well, we did expect extra trouble during the mission but not to this extent. When the old man said facility, Hibiki and I were surely not expecting that the place will be among several other buildings.

The team supposed to find and investigate the right building must have been noticed because a swarm of Alca-Noise was suddenly summoned, flooding the streets and causing Hibiki and me to intervene right away. We begin to clear ourselves a path toward the location of the main team, surely trying to run away from the Alca-Noise.

The plan was rather simple; Hibiki charges straight ahead without a care for anything while I clean up what she ignores as well as the sides by using my triple ranged crossbows; [QUEEN'S INFERNO]. And it's not because I got a full view of Hibiki's ass that I agreed with this plan rather than another.

We rapidly reached the main team, or rather what was left of it since some guys were missing. We swiftly disposed of the group of Alca-Noise that was following them and after checking the situation with the team, we learned that the missing guys that I thought dead were able to infiltrate the faculty and are continuing the mission.

With this piece of information, we decided that Hibiki will join the team currently inside to assist in searching and apprehending the Illuminati's member as well as fending off the Alca-Noise in case of another encounter with them, while I escorted the other members to the backup team before coming back and dealing with the rest of them.

Once I and the main team join with the backup team, I quickly rush back in Hibiki's direction, dealing with any Alca-Noise on my way that could threaten them.

After clearing another place and not seeing any more coming, I contact Hibiki to check on her. "Oi! What's the situation on your side?"

"Ah, Chris-chan! Everything fine, the Illuminati's member is running away, I'm just behind him."

"Be careful, who knows if he had something up its sleeve."

"Got him! I will head back to-"

"Take this!" an unknown voice yells, followed by Hibiki's yelp of surprise before the line went dead.

"Oi! Are you alright?!" I ask first, but to be met with silence. "What happens? Answer me damn it!" I follow urgently. "HIBIKI?!" I end up screaming her name desperately, still without success.

I switch the communication line from Hibiki's comms to HQ directly to inquire about her situation. "Oi old man! What's happening?"

"Our guess is as good as yours, Chris-kun. Our monitors are still picking up Hibiki-kun Gungnir's signal, and her vitals show that's she's perfectly fine.

"Then, where she is now?" I demand, regaining a bit of composure. I then follow the directions given by HQ, reaching the destination in record time, and blasting my way through the wall to discover Hibiki standing still in the middle of the room.

I grab her shoulder and turn her to face me. "Oi! You can answer if yo-" I stop myself when my eyes lock with hers; they are hollow, empty, looking at me but without seeing me.

It stuns me a bit, causing me to avert my gaze from her for the sake of contacting HQ. I didn't even make the call that I was suddenly sent flying across the room, catching a glimpse of Hibiki's in what seem to be a stance before I felt my body crashing through the wall.

"-is-kun! Chris-kun!" The panicked screams of the old man and the others were what I heard first once the ringing in my ear settles.

With my eyes still closed, because I'm sure a blurred vision would not help me, I reach for my comms. "Stop screaming, it's not helping," I complain while standing up before a shot of pain runs from my side around my ribs, causing me to crouch a little from it.

I then check my surrounding, noting mainly the destruction. 'Seems like I was sent flying through another building,' I thought until Hibiki came back in mind, panic included as I reach once more for my comms. "Oi! What about Hibiki!?"

After a brief silence, I receive an answer. "She is heading toward you, Chris-kun, but what happen?"

"Hell if I know," I reflexively respond before asking about the camera that should have already been hacked by now, which were not, meaning that they can't follow the event on direct.

I make my way out of the building I was sent into as I explain what happened. "She was standing in the middle of a room when I found her, her eyes were empty when talking to her and the moment I turn around that I was sent flying where I am."

Once I exit the building by the hole; the one I assume I have made my entry by, I find Hibiki walking toward me, making a stop when I was in her sight before entering her fighting stance.

"Chris-kun, we call in Kirika-kun and Shirabe-kun to come to your help as soon as possible, how long can you handle Hibiki-kun until they are here?"

I smirk at the question while keeping an eye on Hibiki. "I can handle her just fine on my own. She just caught me by surprise, no need to bother them."

"Well, let's not take any unnecessary risk, they will be soon on their way," he replies, earning a huff from me.

"Then, make them bring some anti-LiNKER with them, will make things even easier, but don't blame me if everything is already under control when they come," I voice, earning a scoff from him before I cut the connection as to not be bothered by them while fighting.

'I'm saying this, but with Hibiki always holding back partially when training involves fighting one another…I may be in for some surprises,' I thought before chasing the thought away.

With everything said, I lay my eyes on Hibiki once more, still in her fighting stance as if waiting for me. "Oh! You are waiting for me? Despite hitting me without warning the first time, you're now waiting for me?" I talk to her, which generates no reaction. "Fine, as your senpai, I will take care of you, prepare yourself!" I announce pointing my forefinger at her; this remark though causes a slight twitch of her eyes followed by an attempt to talk before closing her mouth without uttering anything.

'Well, seems what I'm saying is somehow reaching her, so she's not completely closed to extern stimuli and with luck, a simple big enough shock should wake her up.'

I transform the gears of my forearms into the usual crossbows and shot a volley to engage her. The arrows were dealt with by Hibiki swinging one arm across, dispersing then when meeting her gauntlet.

She then charges at me while deflecting more of my attacks with her arms and the consecutive volleys I keep shooting. She covers the distance faster than I thought she would, and once close to me she launches a punch aims at my face that I narrowly avoid by tilting my head to the side, I then put some distance between us by jumping backward and keeping her at bay by shooting a few more.

The crossbow being useless against her, I transform each one into double tri-barrel Gatling guns; [BILLION MAIDEN]. I aim one at her before beginning shooting again, Hibiki dodges the first bullets by jumping on the side before running while I keep shooting. I add the second Gatling to restraint her course, which she proceeds to run toward a building, before running sideways on it.

'What the… She can do that!?' My surprise is cut short when she just jumps vertically from the building wall and uses the booster at her waist to speed up her descent at me, then with one leg held high to perform a hammer kick. I didn't need to see more, the best option for me was the get the hell out from anywhere near her landing point, which at the time would be my position if not my face.

I turn my back without hesitation as I switch back my Armed Gear to my crossbows while I run away, jumping only when I heard the sound of Hibiki crashing against the ground to avoid the lifting effect caused by the impact.

I reach the rooftop of the nearest building as I look at the damages caused. And I was more than right to have run away; the damages surrounding Hibiki spread around a good thirty meters' radius.

Luckily for me, Hibiki seems to have lost sight of me with this attack, giving me time to form a plan… Which I realize I don't need one in the first place. 'I just need to see this fight as training, except, this time Hibiki is fighting more seriously,' I thought before grinning at the challenge.

Sneaking a peek at Hibiki one more time, I see her wandering about while keeping an eye open for me. I take a deep breath before taking action and changing location.

After sneakily jumping from one building to another, I finally reach the one I want; one with a good view of Hibiki to knock her out with a single shot.

Then, using the aiming assistance Ichaival provides me I found Hibiki at more than two hundred meters from my new position still looking for me. I waste little time to put things in motion, combining my two crossbows to form a sniper-rifle; [RED HOT BLAZE]. 'I will finally use it correctly in a real mission,' I thought a bit giddily at the opportunity.

Laying myself on the rooftop floor, I use the scope to aim carefully at Hibiki, which she has her back facing me, walking backward while still on the lookout for me.

I take a deep breath before shooting, knowing that the noise will attract her attention as well as reveal my position, but it will be too late for her to react in time to it.

Or so I thought.

The moment Hibiki heard the noise that she was already in a defensive stance in my general direction, then with a swift movement of her arm, she uses her gauntlet to deflect the bullet toward another building behind her.

My jaw drops. I could only stay like that, eyes wide open while watching my attack explodes and obliterate the building it was sent into. 'What the hell did I just see!? Did she just deflect my shot that was coming from behind her?!' While I know what Hibiki is capable of, this time of reaction was just too high. And the fact that she just chooses the best course of action in deflecting it instead of dodging or blocking it is even more frustrating.

Still stunned by Hibiki's prowess, I failed to notice sooner that she was already closing the gap between us and had covered half the distance already. Panicking a bit at her progression speed, I quickly stand up, separating the sniper-rifle into the usual crossbow before expanding the compartment at my waist to launch a volley of missiles with [MEGA DETH PARTY] at Hibiki to slow her down.

It was as effective as firing into water. Without slowing down, Hibiki runs into them before jumping, twisting her body the right way as to avoid every single missile before landing on a street lamp, then jumping from one to another without losing her momentum until performing a last jump toward me, using her booster to reach me, fist at the ready.

I quickly throw myself to the side to avoid her fist connecting with me, recovering from my action I try to stand up and aim at her but was met with Hibiki right in front of me while I was still slightly crouched.

Pain runs through my abdomen as Hibiki delivers me the most painful palm strike I have ever received in my life, knocking the absolute wind out of me while my body is sent flying from the building, crashing in the middle of the deserted street, bouncing and rolling before skidding to a halt.

I struggle to stand up and can only be grateful that Hibiki seems to have some limited control over her body to strike me with her palm instead of her fist. 'Still incredibly painful though, I really need to snap her out of it before my body decides that staying down is a very appealing option and be the one needing saving, which is a state that I refuse to show to my kouhais again.'

I search for Hibiki once back up, not a difficult task as I see her at a fair distance and running at me. Accepting the fact that the current Hibiki in front of me has perhaps an even better battle sense than the original, I decide to bet everything on the next couple of actions.

Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I prepare myself mentally and physically for what is about to come. Feeling ready, I open my eyes and begin singing.

Insert Song – Take This! "All Loaded"

I first use [BILLION MAIDEN], shooting in Hibiki's direction who has begun to run toward me. I was expecting for her to take cover wherever she could once I began shooting, but she keeps going forth, guarding herself against the wave of bullets by simply crossing her arms in front of her, most of them being deflected upon contact with her gauntlet. 'Has senpai even managed to dent them?' I think absently.

Noting the failure of my first attack, I switch off the Gatling for their default form as gauntlet on my forearms before using another [MEGA DETH PARTY]. The volley of missiles didn't do anything either; Hibiki dodges some by ducking and twisting her body in a certain angle, deflects some other by using the back of her hand, or simply, to my mild shock, catching them before throwing them to the side, the blank look on her face while doing the whole thing as if she did it daily upset me as much as I found her performance cool.

I put my infatuation for her under control to focus on the upset feeling, before resorting to the big gun; [MEGA DETH FUGA]. How she deals with it was clearly not what I was expecting by a long shot. Hibiki jumps on one of the rockets I launch and keeps running its length before jumping off of it toward me.

Completely mesmerized by just what I was seeing, I was almost too late in blocking Hibiki's kick aimed for my head, the strength of it still high enough to send me flying across the street, but I was quick to recover this time, barely hindering my singing.

Actually, this kick was welcomed, while I certainly dislike how my arms are throbbing because of it, the distance created between the both of us is a godsend. And seeing how my usual pattern of attack is mostly useless against her, this distance is perfect to try something new, and if I'm lucky everything will end with the next move.

Arming myself with revolver-type pistols, I aim carefully at the charging girl, taking a shot at her head to see her reaction. She acts as I expected her to; by tilting her head to the side not slowing down. 'What training does she needs if she can totally dodge bullets coming at her from less than fifty meters.' I thought a bit angrily.

I resume shooting at her, mostly to distract Hibiki from my true motive. Once with one bullet remaining in each pistol and Hibiki being at less than ten meters, I shoot one of my last bullets at her head, which she dodges by ducking her head and body. I then, while throwing my empty pistol to the side shoot my last bullet right where Hibiki's foot was supposed to land, destroying her foothold and making her lose her footing as she stumbles toward me.

The little distance between us makes her impossible to recover in time, so, curling my fingers to form a fist, I throw it with all my might. "Wake up, you dumbass!" I yell as my fist collides with Hibiki's side of her face and sent her reeling backward, stepping back several steps.

While a bit disheartened by the fact that my punch didn't send her flying while she was able to do so with a simple palm strike, I quickly follow her before she has time to recover. Grabbing her by the wrist, I tug her toward me to keep her off balance before sweeping her off of her feet and making her land flat on her stomach, ignoring the surprised yelp coming from her, I then took both of her arms, putting them behind her back with both hands resting around the lumbar area before I sat on them after discarding the gear from my waist, successfully straddling and immobilizing Hibiki.

I release a huge sigh as I finally let the tension leave my body, resting my hand softly on Hibiki's back as to not fall forward on her. After a moment spent in silence, she is the one to break it first.

"Uhhh… Chris-chan?" Hibiki tentatively calls my name.

"Senpai," I simply reply.

"Eh?" She asks, turning her head the best she can to lock eyes with me.

"Call me Chris-senpai, I will not listen to anything you say until you do so." Yeah, I know I'm forcing things up, but I honestly don't care, I will take my reward for fighting her where I can.

"Chris… -senpai?" She finally says after another moment.

'Good enough,' I thought while smiling and quelling down the strange feeling that invades my body. "Yeah?" I respond to her.

"Uhhh… What's happening and how did I get here?" her voice seems a little unsure.

"Do you plan to hit me again?"

'Shit, I didn't want her to know that she was fighting me against her will,' I admonish myself for my slip up.

Thankfully my question only earns me a frown from her, "What are you saying Chris-chan, I would never do that." Despite everything that happens not even minutes ago, I believe her. At least I believe that she will never do anything to purposely hurt me, or anyone she cares for that matter.

But just in case. "Then, can you take off your Symphogear?"

"I can, but why?"

"Just do it, please," I ask in the same soft voice that I found myself using more and more since Thursday when talking to her.

Seems like it was effective because, without saying anything, a brief flash of light appears in which I have to cover my eyes with an arm, once I can open my eyes, she is in the same position, still under me but wearing the S.O.N.G. uniform instead of her Symphogear.

'Good,' I thought before doing the same and taking off Ichaival, knowing that we are the only one around here.

I wanted to initially take the relic away from her just to be sure, but since she wears it as a bracelet around her wrist rather than a pendant, I gave up on the idea. "So, how are you feeling?" I initiate, in order to check her condition.

"My cheek hurts quite a bit," she says, twitching the muscles of her face and wincing in the result.

Her answer earns her a small chuckle from me. "Yeah, sorry about that. Still, it's a small thing compared to what I took from you."

"What do you mean?" she asks, frowning again.

'Damn it! I did it again.' I swiftly ignore her question by asking another, "What is the last thing you can remember?"

While not pleased that I ignore her question, Hibiki pauses a bit to ponder mine. "You, manhandling me," she says with a smirk, earning a swat on her shoulder as I tell her to be serious despite being unsuccessful in hiding my smile.

Thinking seriously this time she says. "I was following the Illuminati member, contacting you that I got him before being thrown some purple powder at my face."

I sigh. "That's why I did tell you to be careful, dummy," I say to her to which she apologizes while smiling sheepishly, which I couldn't help but let out another sigh before turning her a smile.

After a short moment of staying in this position, Hibiki breaks the silence once more. "Uhhh, Chris-chan? Can you get off of me?"

I consider the question, while I know I should get off of her by now, the somehow intimate contact I have right now with her certainly doesn't encourage me in doing so. "Nope" I answer in kind after pondering a bit, thinking of it as another reward for the trouble I did go through.

"Ehhh? Come on, Chris-chan, the ground is cold and dirty," she complains, tossing her body from left to right, trying to throw me off.

"Well, I found myself perfectly comfortably seated and I can feel your warmth, so no." my smile becomes wider while ignoring her shaking.

"If you don't, I will make you, Chris-senpai," she stresses the last part.

Hearing her calling me senpai a second time with this tone sent a jolt through my spine and make me realize that I perhaps shouldn't have forced her. It feels like it could become some kind of a turn-on to me, and it's something I certainly didn't need to discover about myself.

Ignoring my sudden arousal, I taunt her. "Try! I'm reaaally curious about how you wi-kyaaa!" I interrupt myself as hastily get off of Hibiki while rubbing my ass, where I felt a sharp pain seconds prior.

Catching from the corner of my eyes Hibiki quickly jumps on her feet as she dusts herself, I glare at her fiercely. The girl grins shamelessly once she locks eyes with me. "I did warn you, Chris-chan."

I was stunned at how she was acting. That cheeky, perverted behavior was something I have never seen before from her, and while I don't particularly hate it; I can't let it goes unpunished.

And I think she must have caught up on my train of thought because the moment I furrow my eyes on her, that she begins to run while laughing. Of course, with me giving chase.

I found myself panting heavily minutes later, leaning with one hand at the angles of the building where Hibiki made the last turn I saw her take. My eyes currently fixing the ground as I have one hand on my ribs. A dull pain throbbing with each deep breath I take, forcing me to take smaller, shallow ones to recuperate and ease the pain.

'Well, at least I know it's not a side stitch, but again maybe it would be better if it was,' I thought while regulating my breath and feeling already a bit better with each second passing by.

I stay like that for a moment longer, the idea of chasing after my kouhai forgotten. Except, I didn't need to care too much regarding the matter as I hear footsteps coming closer to me. As I lift my eyes toward the person; it was Hibiki looking at me with a guilty, concerned expression. "Are you okay, Chris-chan?" she asks worriedly.

Brushing her worry off, I took a fistful of her jacket and pulled her toward me before leaning my head against her collarbone, not confident that my legs can move yet. "Caught you," I mutter to her.

My unexpected action causes her to wave her arms around aimlessly, not knowing what she should do with them before timidly putting them on my waist.

"Chris-senpai! Hibiki-san! Are you there?!" Our moment was interrupted by the call of our black-haired kouhai followed by the other one right after.

"Didn't you tell me that Kirika-chan and Shirabe-chan were sore from a hard training session with Shishō, and that's why both of us are participating in this mission?" Hibiki inquires.

"The old man thought that I would need back up, so he calls them. I also told him that he will be the one to blame if I wrap things before they come and make them waste their time… It also makes me realize that I didn't tell HQ that I had everything under control for a while now… And that's he may have urged them to come since we take off our gears, causing them to lose our signal… Great…" I groan at the end, realizing my carelessness.

This only earns a chuckle from Hibiki. "Well, we will just tell them you were busy checking if I was fine while being tired yourself, which it's true." She winks at me when I threw a glance at her.

"And I can always add that you, running away from me wasn't helping," I smirk at her before pulling away from her a little, putting our moment of closeness to an end to my slight chagrin.

Hibiki just had the time to pout at my words before we heard our kouhais calling our name once more. As we look at each other, I tilt my head toward the direction of their voices. "Better join them before they send a whole team to look for us," I say before heading toward their direction with Hibiki hot on her heels behind me.

It's when we turn another corner that I found myself face to face with the running Igalima wielder, almost colliding with me if it was not for Hibiki pulling me out of the way in time.

The green Symphogear quickly comes to a halt and turns to us, pointing a finger at us, "Senpais in sight, desu!"

"Chris-senpai, Hibiki-san, are the two of you alright?" Looking behind us, the pink Symphogear was slowly closing the distance.

Before either of us had the time to say anything that we were interrupted by the other wielder. "Before that Shirabe. Chris-senpai, where is the special enemy which we need the use of Anti-LiNKER?"

"Anti-LiNKER? What's for?" Hibiki reacts, her eyes shifting on each of us before settling on me.

"Yes, the commander said that Chris-senpai requests it to make things easier."

I was once again interrupted before I could explain, causing me to pinch the bridge of my nose in irritation. "So, Chris-senpai! What kind of enem-"

"Arg, Shut up already!" I finally snap at them. "The enemy I was dealing with didn't have anything special, I ask for Anti-LiNKER to buy me more time to deal with it on my own since the old man was adamant in calling you two for backup when it was unnecessary," I pause to catch my breath. "And I was right since like you can see," I pause once again, waving at the surrounding with a hand. "No special enemy around anymore."

"Desu! So, you're saying that there was no need for us and that we came all the way here for nothing?!" the green wielder says while sulking.

"Yeah, if you have a complaint about it, save them for the old man, not me," I say as I begin to walk in the general directions of the backup team. "Anyway, you tell the old man that I got the situation under control and that we're heading back to HQ," I add, pointing at Hibiki and me. "While you are at it, ask him about the two of you, it's possible that you will have to take it from where we left things up."


S.O.N.G HQ
In the end, with the Alca Noise exterminated, our presence was no longer necessary. We all came back to HQ while the other teams stay behind to see what the Illuminati left behind for us.

Before we even have time to report to the old man that Hibiki was already being rushed toward the med bay for a battery of tests. 'The old man must have already filled the nurse about what happened to her. Hopefully, she will not reveal it to Hibiki.'

The helpless look she sent me as she was escorted was so cute that I couldn't help but smile softly. I ended up telling her that I will join her as soon as I'm done reporting to the old man, to which she nodded before following the doctor as I headed to the bridge with my two kouhais not far behind making idle chats between them on the way.

The report itself wasn't that long since the crew was mostly concerned about what happened with Hibiki, and the teams left behind will give them theirs once they are back. I just needed to fill them in how, after I looked for Hibiki following their direction, that I was sent through walls after finding her and fighting her until I managed to land a solid hit on her. My 'solution' earns a few gasps and shocked expressions from everyone and a proud one from the old man, clearly from the training results I displayed. I ended my report with Hibiki 'waking up' with no recollection of the event after being thrown purple powder by the Illuminati's member as well as me averting the subject she fought me to spare her the anguish.

After being reminded that Hibiki and I still need to write said report I was finally dismissed and was now on my way to the med bay, hoping that everything is fine with my oldest kouhai.

"You're all set Tachibana-san, whatever was in your system is completely gone so you have nothing to worry about," I hear once the door slides open. The doctor; Kyōko, was seated on her chair, a leg crossing over the other while checking something on her tablet, surely Hibiki's test result while her patient just finishes putting her shirt down. I could only curse myself for not coming sooner.

My arrival causes both of them to turn their head toward me. "Ah! Good timing Yukine-san, your turn," The doctor says to me while indicating to the bed adjacent to Hibiki.

Since I know that I'm not particularly injured or at least nothing that a night of rest couldn't fix, I simply wave off her concern. "I don't need a checkup, I'm perfectly fine." The moment those words left my mouth that the doctor's eyes were back on me, and I begin fidgeting under them while I notice Hibiki's slightly worried gaze as it shifts between me and the doc. We stay like that for a few seconds until the doctor quirks an eyebrow at me and I reluctantly head to the other bed.

'Why do I even try, she is in charge of us since even before I joined Section Two, and no matter how stubborn any of us are, she's twice as much.'

Seated on the bed, I untie the small scarf, then take off the jacket of the uniform. It's once I reach for the hems of my undershirt that I notice Hibiki's stare, seeming lost in thought but I could tell that she was staring intensely at where my hands were. I smile internally to the fact that Hibiki is not indifferent to my body and fully take off the red undershirt, leaving me just in my white bra as Hibiki's gaze was nom on my breast, biting her lower lip in the process.

After a moment letting her have a good look, I call her out on it. "Did you see something interesting?" I tease her.

Her eyes quickly shift from my chest to my face. "Huh?" She dumbly replies before a furious blush takes over her face as she realizes she has been caught. She then avoids my eyes while blabbering all kinds of apologies and earning a chuckle from me.

"Sorry to cut the flirting short, but I have a patient to check and will need for you to stand still Yukine san." The doctor interrupts our moment while rolling her chair to my side.

My face heats up, upon realizing that I was so focused on Hibiki that I completely forgot her presence. Thankfully, the doctor doesn't linger much on us and promptly begins my checkup. Once she presses her hand around my ribs, I wince at the mild pain I feel, the same I felt when I ran after Hibiki.

"Hmm, Congratulation, Yukine-san. Despite being 'perfectly fine on your own term, you seem to have bruised ribs. And from what I know of the Symphogear System's defense, you must have taken a particularly hard blow for it to occur," she says the whole thing with an even smile on her face.

'Bruised!? No wonder I had trouble running after Hibiki after a short while. Still, good thing I have a high pain tolerance.' I let out of sigh as I process the news. 'I should be grateful that I didn't end up with fractured or straight-up broken ones, especially after telling them that my opponent was nothing special.'

"How bad is it?" The question makes me and the doctor turn toward Hibiki, she has an overly worried look, and both of her hands were grasping her uniform's short with tight fists.

I answer before the doctor could. "It's actually not that bad, with a pack of ice to alleviate the pain if I felt any, plenty of rest, taking the necessary deep breath to not put myself at risk and I would heal in no time. Hell, depending on how I manage the movement of my body I could even run."

"Which I discourage greatly, as well as any Symphogear activities, especially Symphogear activities, you are off duty until I say otherwise, Yukine-san. I will notice the commander of your condition as well as send a note to the school." She rolls her chair back to her desk as she taps more on her tablet. "Tachibana-san, can I count on you to not let Yukine-san do as she pleases, at least for the next few days?"

"Don't worry Kyōko-san, I will not let Chris-chan off my sight," Hibiki replies with conviction. The doctor's words seem to have motivated her greatly as she looks at me with a resolute gaze. At least until her stomach begin to growl, prompting her to put her hands on it and blushing while looking at us with a mortified expression.

I stand up, attracting the look of the other two persons in the room. "Well, let's feed the beast inside you first before you begin taking care of me, and don't forget that we have a report to write.

While Hibiki's face lights up at the mention of food, it quickly falls at the mention of the report. Waiting for her at the door she quickly stands up and joins me.

"Ah right, Yukine-san. Take this" Going through her drawers and cupboards, she hands me a small bag. "Take them when the pain is unbearable. Also, you will need to-"

"Sleeping in a more upright position for the next few days. I know, not the first time it happens," I finish her sentence, muttering the last as I take the medicines and leaving with Hibiki in tow.

We meet the ZABABA duet on our way to the cafeteria, the two wanted to know what our plan was for now. I tell them that it will be the cafet first, then writing the mission report. Since the both of them took a rather late breakfast and were not that hungry for lunch, they decided they would eat outside.

"Wait, both of you!" I call them out on their way out. Walking to them while reaching for my phone, I send them an address. "You should try this place, they certainly have something on their menu that you two will appreciate. Take it as compensation for coming."

"Thank Chris-senpai!" I get their gratitude from them both in a form of a tight hug, which actually hurt quite a bit. Though I was unwilling to show any weakness in front of them, I bear with it while patting their heads.

I was thankfully saved by Hibiki, which pulled me from them and toward her, attracting a confused look from both of them as well as a grateful one from me. "Sorry Kirika-chan, Shirabe-chan but we really should go now if we want to begin and finish those reports soon." She tells them, before dragging me away to their bewildered looks and my curious one

It's when we are a fair distance from them that Hibiki slows down and lets go of me, apologizing while looking at the ground and confusing me before I smile at it. "If I didn't know that you dragged me away from them because they were hurting me without knowing it, I would believe that you were jealous of them for doing it."

The silence that follows was louder than anything she could have said. "I was… a bit." At least, until she admits it to my surprise as she confesses. "I… somehow always get a rougher treatment than Kirika-chan and Shirabe-chan, despite knowing you from longer than them."

'Right, it's not because she says nothing and brushes things off with a smile that it doesn't affect her. Even if I was doing it by sheer embarrassment at first, hitting her and complaining mostly become a habit and some way to keep up appearances.' My train of thought leads me to take advantage of this opportunity to do right to my closest friend.

"Then, would you like to hug me without me protesting?" I propose to her while spreading my arms, inviting her for one.

My proposition surprises her at first and it seems she was about to go for it but stop. "Could you be the one to initiate it instead?" She counters with a proposition of her own, forcing my arms to fall back to my sides.

"Sorry, you don't have to, I would be happy to take on yo-" I cut her off as I close the distance between us and embrace her as tight as I could, Hibiki returning it right after as I feel her relaxing in my arms.

"If you don't tell anyone I was the one who initiate it, I will stop hitting you except when you're being stupid, deal?" I mutter in her ear.

I could hear her chuckling at my word. "Deal, nobody will know that badass Chris-chan is a softie that can hug others."

It's my turn to softly laugh at her words. "And who knows, maybe I will be willing to initiate another one with you in the future if you hold your tongue well," I playfully add

"Then, maybe we should stop before someone caught us on camera."

"Right," I answer as we let go of each other, only to be reminded of our original destination by Hibiki's stomach. I chuckle softly at the mortified look on her face. "It seems hugs aren't enough to satiate the beast inside you."

"If they could, I would surely be glued to someone constantly."

"True. Then let's go see what's the cafet have today and then work on our report."

Clearly agreeing with the first part, Hibiki and I resume our walk toward the cafet, our shoulders brushing each other from time to time with how close we remain on the way.


"I'm home," I say once I pass through the entrance door. After hanging my coat on the coat rack, I make my way toward the living room, climbing and crawling on the couch before letting myself fall on it, groaning a bit to the brief moment of pain caused by the action. Though, I still close my eyes as it was subsiding.

"Ahhh, Chris-chan. You can't take a nap on the couch like that, you should at least change. Also, Kyoko-san said you should sleep in a more upright position." Hibiki pesters me not even a minute in this position, my newly assigned caretaker taking her new role seriously as she pokes my cheek with a finger to steer me awake, then begins to shake me when met with no success.

'I'm just planning on taking a little nap, not sleeping. There is no need to be in the correct position for this,' I thought as if she could hear them.

"You're mumbling Chris-chan. I can't understand what you're trying to say." Seems like my thoughts tried to escape by my mouth at the time but without much success.

I then hear her sighing, letting me believe she has given up. Except, I'm forgetting that this girl doesn't know the meaning of those words. "Then you don't leave me a choice, Chris-senpai," she whispers those words right in my ear causing a wave of heat to spread inside my body before settling in one place.

Before I have time to think about what she's planning for me that I feel myself being flipped on my back before being lifted from the couch. Hibiki is carrying me bridal style to where I suppose is my bedroom.

By now, I am too groggy to pay much attention to my surroundings and simply decide to enjoy the free ride. I feel my body being laid down on one side of my bed for a moment. Then, vaguely hear Hibiki looking for something until she is once again by my side, pulling on my upper body for me to sit. "Come on, Chris-chan. Can you cooperate with me a bit, then I will let you sleep as much as you want?"

With the promise of her stopping manhandling me and letting me sleep, I groggily lift both arms as she proceeds to pull me out of my dress. Once done I instinctively untie my bra, throwing it to the side as I release a sigh at the freeing sensation. It also causes the room to grow suddenly silent.

"Hurry!" I grumble at the lack of activity as I remain topless and feel my body getting cold.

"Ah! Sorry," she apologizes. I was not sure exactly why, maybe for making me wait, but I lift my arms once more as Hibiki finally puts my top on me and makes me lay down. She then lifts my legs to take off my shorts as well as my high stocking to put pants on before settling me once more in bed.

Once under the quilt, I hear her muttering about something being harder than she thought it would, but I'm honestly far above my limit about trying to keep track of what she could be doing or saying. A soft touch on my cheek and something that sound like a 'sleep well' and I was a goner, falling into my longing sleep.

I wake up, feeling a bit groggy and with a blurry memory of the past events since I passed the door of my apartment and fell down on the couch. I vaguely recall something about Hibiki carrying me to bed and stripping me down to change my clothes, and it was enough for me to look down at myself to see I was now wearing red long-sleeve shirt and grey tight sweatpants. I pull on the collar of my shirt to see I was indeed braless, confirming my idea that Hibiki definitely got a look at the goods, which I can tease her about it, especially after what happened in the med bay. Not thinking more about it, I decided to see what my favorite kouhai was up to while I was asleep.

I pass the door of my bedroom to head to the living room, making a quick trip to the restroom to relieve myself. I find Hibiki on one end of the couch wearing black shorts with a single vertical orange stripe on each side going mid-thigh, and a tight shirt with the same color pattern. While I'm enjoying the possibility of seeing her toned legs, I'm as stunned that she owns anything black considering her personality, to the fact she looks gorgeous in it, the dark color revealing some kind of hidden part of herself.

But my biggest surprise was actually what she was doing. Hibiki was reading a book… and from where I stand, she looks pretty engrossed in it, to the point she didn't even notice my presence as I approach her. Even when my knee sank on the couch making her slightly sway toward me.

It's a strange sight, one that I'm taking great curiosity in as I sit on the couch with a knee against my chest, my head resting on it while the other was hanging from the edge as I stare at Hibiki for a moment. Her gaze shifts from page to page, flipping to the next ones when she reaches the end still unaware of my presence.

After a moment, my eyes fall to her lap, making me wonder how come she's not even slightly cold until I remembered, that each time I have been in close contact with her and how she was running as hot as an oven.

Seeking the feeling of her warmth against me I decided to lie down on the couch, my head on her exposed thighs with my face facing her body. The motion causes Hibiki to tense for a brief moment before relaxing and resuming reading with me being lulled by the sound of flipped pages.

"Thank you by the way," I broke the comfortable silence, rolling myself to end up on my back, head still on Hibiki's lap and eyes closed.

What I say diverts her attention from the book since I hear it being closed before she asks. "About what?"

"For carrying me to my bedroom and tucking me to bed."

"I was just returning the favor. After all, you did the same for me."

I search for a moment in my memories until clueing to Thursday's event. "Well, I didn't carry you, more like drag you to bed. Though I certainly didn't take your clothes off to change you." I feel her stiffen at my sentence. "You even strip me of my bra, even if I appreciate it, it was pretty daring don't you think?" I add with a smirk.

There was a brief silence before she talks. "Actually, I didn't touch it… you removed it on your own."

"I did? Hmmm… Then did you take a look? With how much you stared at them when I was still wearing a bra in the med bay. I bet you couldn't resist the temptation," I tease her some more.

"YASSSAI MOSSAI ! YASSSAI MOSSAI ! YASSSAI MOSSAI !" I open my eyes to the notification's sound of my phone, landing on a still blushing Hibiki averting my gaze foremost. I take mercy on her as I move from my spot, getting up from the couch and moving toward the entrance to take my phone out of my coat pocket.

"Who is it?" Hibiki asks as I make my way back to the couch while checking the sender.

"That's just the ZABABA duet, seems like they loved the C3 and are thanking me for giving them the address," I tell Hibiki the content of the message as I sit back beside her, "Though, I guess they should address the- What's so funny?" I stop myself when I see her chuckling for no reason.

"Sorry, it's just how you called them the 'ZABABA duet'," She manages to say through fits of giggles.

I huff before playfully hitting her shoulder. "I'm just used to it, you should know that by now."

"But you call Tsubasa-san 'senpai' though," she argues with a small smile.

"I was in a desperate situation, and while I knew you still have faith in me despite the act of betrayal I displayed during the Frontier Incident, I could not say the same about her at first. Also, I was bugged so I couldn't just ask for help out of the blue in the middle of the fight. And the only reason I keep calling her that now is because she kept nagging me about it afterward, to the point she even complained to you about it," I end up, feeling the irritation by just recalling the event. 'Senpai's surely made me regret right away calling her that,' I thought before sighing.

"To be honest… I didn't like it at that time, it felt like the two of you suddenly got closer while I was still making mistakes in trying to make you like me." She hangs her head down by the end of her sentence.

Her confession about how I make her feel all this time clenches at my heart. 'She was just trying her best in her own way, but even if she knew I didn't hate her, it still doesn't mean that my behavior at the time wasn't affecting her deeply.'

Determinate to put an end to my behavior that ends up hurting her repeatedly to my ignorance, I come closer to Hibiki, sliding one arm around the back of her head and the other around her waist before pulling her body against mine, her head resting on my shoulder. "I'm sorry," I begin while softly patting her head. "While I knew you didn't have any bad intentions. At that time, I was already struggling in trusting others, so opening up to others was certainly not on my plans. But ultimately, you were all so persistent, especially you, in your attempts that I finally cave in, and without warning, I began trusting you guys. While opening up was still far away, I was happy to have people to call friends. So, thank you, Hibiki, to have reached out your hand to me, and know that I'm deeply sorry for how I treated and made you feel until now."

Hibiki stays silent for a moment, her only answer being to circle her arms around me and nuzzle in the crook of my neck, releasing a soft sigh that tickles me before asking. "Ne, Chris-chan, can you call me by my name again, just once?"

I honestly always thought that if I were to call her by her name that it will be a very embarrassing moment, that the others would tease me to no end about it, or maybe nag me to have the same treatment as well. But actually, nothing like that even crossed my mind at this moment, no, the only thing on my mind was the possibility to right more wrongs I did to Hibiki and to alleviate any of her insecurities she had about me toward her.

"I have a better idea," I begin, forcing her to lean her head back, her eyes meeting mine before I resume. "How about instead of just once, I call you Hibiki from now on?"

Her reaction tells me everything I need to know as well as how much it was weighing on her. She gives me one of her biggest smiles that I love so much to see while tears began to fall down her cheeks. I press her head against my shoulder again, the time her shaking and sobs cease.

It didn't take much, just a few minutes. "Then, can I call you Chris from now on too?" she asks after leaning back.

Her question causes me to lift her eyebrow. "I always thought that you just liked to call me that."

Obviously, not with the way she averts my eyes. "Well, I was never sure where I stood, and while you didn't seem to mind anymore that Miku and I didn't add senpai, I didn't want to spark anything by calling you just Chris suddenly."

"Hmmm," I muse over what she said and came to a sudden realization. "Does that mean that each time she called me by my name, you were jealous she was able to?" I begin to laugh at the wild guess until I see Hibiki blushing at my remark. I rapidly put it under control because of the slight discomfort the pain causes before I pat her head once more. "Call me whatever you want, Hibiki."

She smiles again, before furrowing her eyebrows, to my worry at what negative thoughts could plague her now. I wait for her to decide if she wants to share them with me, and she did. "About this whole thing, does that mean it will only be when the two of us are alone?"

I release a sigh of relief at this simple question. 'And here I thought something important was troubling her… Well, I guess it's pretty important for her…' I thought. "Well, while I wouldn't mind keeping it just between us, I think it wouldn't be fair to you that you can't brag about it even a little, especially when senpai was so shameless about it… So, honestly, do as you please and I will give proof when needed, deal?" I give her one of my rare bright smiles.

She returns it with one of her own before replying. "Deal!"

"Good. Then, would you mind making us one of your hot chocolate with almond milk?" I grin.

"I knew you will end up addicted to it, Chris. Coming right away!" she says as she gets up and rushes in the direction of the kitchen, my eyes following each of her movements before I lean my head against the back of the couch.

'I've made more progress with her in the last few days than I could in a whole year; confessing things I didn't expect to be able to and letting go of unnecessary restraint I had, and even feeling happy about it. If things keep up like that, I will probably confess by the end of the weekend, hopefully, she feels more about me than just friendship.' I banish the last thought since nothing will come out of it by thinking about it. 'All I know is that she is interested in my body, well mostly my chest. But I'm not the only one in our group to have a big one. Also, she did repeatedly seek close contact with me, but again she is like that with everyone… Yeah, I should just stop bothering myself with it and just enjoy her company until she leaves tomorrow.'

While waiting, my eyes land on the book Hibiki was reading, a perfect distraction. "Didn't expect to catch you one day reading a book, and seeing how engrossed you were in it, it must be a really good one," I say to her while picking the strangely familiar book.

"It's yours actually, I had some time to kill after finishing the chores, so I wandered a bit and got curious about your shelf's content."

I take a closer look at the book in my hand until recognition comes to me. 'That's right! It's the book I bought out of curiosity after reading the synopsis, I completely forgot about it with the whole Bavarian Illuminati thing.' Reading the synopsis once more and leafing through the first pages, I remember why I pick it up at that time.

Hibiki comes back holding two mugs with one toward me. As I thank her, I take the beverage from her hand before bringing it to my lips to take a sip. I release a pleasurable sigh upon swallowing, feeling the warmth spread inside my body from the hot chocolate.

Hibiki sits back beside me while closing the already small distance between us before leaning her head on my shoulder and taking a sip from her own mug.

We spend the next moment seated peacefully, drinking, and enjoying each other presence with this newfound closeness.

"So, what should we do for dinner, Chris?"

"Let's just go with ordering pizzas, what do you think?"

"Work with me."

I pull away from her as I get up, taking her empty mug with mine on the way alongside my phone to make the order. "You should take your bath first," I say to her while heading toward the kitchen.

Agreeing with me, Hibiki heads to the bedroom while I put the mugs in the sink, washing them before leaving them to dry out. After drying my hands, I make a call to my favorite pizzeria. "Hibiki, what do you want on your pizza?" I ask her when I see her exit the bedroom and before she enters the bathroom.

"I'm fine with anything," she answers nonchalantly before disappearing inside the bathroom.

"The simplest and at the same time the most complicated answer. Well, whatever I will just order a Quattro Formaggi and a half seafood half teriyaki chicken,' I mumble while dialing the number.

I easily became a regular to this pizzeria with how little time I had to wait to get my order delivered; twenty to half an hour at most. Really, a lifesaver when I come home tired and in no mood to cook anything. Just need a call, giving plenty of time to freshen a bit, change clothes and get everything ready while waiting for the delivery man, and thank to that killer metabolism of mine, I don't put any extra weight, allowing me to repeat those days as much as I want.

When Hibiki exits the bathroom wearing her usual orange pajama and a towel in hand to dry her hair, I find myself already missing her allure in black clothes. I quickly finish setting the pizzas boxes on the table in front of the couch as I invite Hibiki to sit at the edge of the couch near me. I take the towel from her hands and help her dry her hair for her, running my fingers through them to check that there are no longer traces of moisture, the fragrance of the shampoo she used reaches me, and before I realize it my nose was already in her hair and breathing in it.

"Chris, the pizzas are getting cold," she finally says after letting me indulge myself in the moment

"Yeah, let's eat," I say, leaning back from Hibiki as I refocus my thoughts.

We watched one of the old man movies that Hibiki's brought with her while eating our share, commenting on the movie, and having some idle chat. Once the movie was over, Hibiki was the one to take on the empty boxes and put them in a trash bag, sealing it to be ready to be thrown out the next occasion.

I get up from the couch before stretching myself a bit, a slight jolt of pain reminds me that I have bruised ribs that I should be taking care of.

"You should take your bath now Chris, then go straight to bed to accelerate the healing process." Her words came as if she sensed what I was thinking about. And, as much as I would want to ignore what she is saying, since she promised it to the doc there is just no way for me to get out of this. I end up making a trip to my bedroom to take what I need and then into the bathroom.

I release a moan when I'm soaking in the bath, the heat doing wonders to my body as I let my thought wander. 'Well, while the day didn't begin how I would have liked, I'm certainly not complaining about the following events. Hibiki shared some of her insecurities and I was able to ease each of them as well as get the necessary push to free myself from some of my restraints,' I thought before letting myself sink deeper into the water.

When I exit the bathroom while still drying my hair, Hibiki was once more seated on the couch with the books she was reading earlier. This time she notices me right away as she quickly put a bookmark on her page before setting the book aside. She then taps with her hand the place beside her for me to come. Understanding what she has in mind, I let her reciprocate what I did to her by drying my hairs, even leaning her nose in them to breathe in before putting my hair in a low ponytail.

Once done, she gets up before extending her hand toward me that I gladly took. I let her lead me to the bedroom while putting away the towel in the laundry basket in the bathroom on the way.

I let myself be tucked to bed, the upright position in which I must sleep made Hibiki unable to cuddle, unless it's snuggle, to me on the same level. Instead, she opts for circling her arms around my stomach, the unusual sleeping position making me able to stroke her hairs and I could swear she lets out a purr escape her lips.

Not feeling tired enough to sleep, I decide to strike a conversation. "So, Hibiki, how was your day?"

My question causes Hibiki to look at me strangely, figures. "We spend the whole day together Chris, there's nothing that you don't know about it."

"Come on, just humor me," I say with a smile.

Pondering over my request, she seems to finally resign herself. "Well, you see Chris, I got to spend the whole day with my cool and sometimes cute senpai," she grins and wriggles her eyebrows at me when saying the 'cute' part, to which I roll my eyes but let her continue. "We woke up in the same bed, gone on a mission together, fought together, ate lunch and wrote our report together, watch a movie while eating pizza together and now I'm in bed with her, together," she finishes, grinning ear to ear. "What about you Chris? How was your day?" she asks me.

I decide to follow the same pattern as her. "Well, Hibiki. My day didn't begin as well as yours, I was woken up to the ringing of my phone about an assignment that needed my too optimistic kouhai as well as my participation. Said assignment got, of course, complications where I had to fight, alone, a particular foe who manage to get the drop on me, twice, leading to me sporting an injury," I quickly follow upon seeing her troubled expression. "But well, things got better afterward, I got my adorable kouhai as caretaker, meaning, her not leaving my side, lots of pampering, cuddles, snuggles, hugs… she even tucked me to bed when I was too tired to do it myself. And she also makes a killer hot chocolate," I deliver my last sentence with a teasing smile, earning a soft chuckle before a comfortable silence takes place.

Only to be broken after a brief moment by my kouhai. "Ne, Chris. The special opponent you were talking about… It was me, wasn't it?"

It was a question, at least it sounds like it was one, but when my eyes lay on hers. I realize it was not. She already has her answer, so it's more as if she wanted to know what I will answer; will I tell her the truth or lie straight to her face. I have been able to avoid telling her what really happened until now, but if I were to lie to her now. There is no doubt she could overthink it as me not trusting her and it would end up hurting her.

I remember how I felt when the crew, senpai included, knew that Hibiki's life was in danger with each time she was donning Gungnir. To think that things had to become even worse, to the point they didn't have the choice but to inform us about it was what hurts more. And even despite knowing it, Hibiki was still willing to fight as if she had a death wish. I certainly don't regret almost begging for her not to though.

'Things between us are changing for the better and I don't want to taint it already with meaningless lies,' I thought before letting out a sigh. "Yes, it was you," I finally say to her. "You were standing still when I found you, couldn't seem to reach you by talking or with physical contact, that's when I drop my guard…"

"And I attacked you. That's why you ask for Anti-LiNKER," She finishes my sentence.

"Yeah… I didn't lie when I said it was to give me more time, I didn't want them to see you like that. Thankfully, the crew never managed to have access to the cameras, so there is no record of you fighting me available," I say, trying the lift the mood, but failing.

"How bad was it, fighting me?" She asks after another brief silence.

"Honestly, it was unnerving. I already knew what you were capable of, but this fight… Arg, just thinking about it pisses me off," I decide to vent my feelings.

Surprisingly, Hibiki chuckle at it "So it was not much different from when we train together."

I chuckle myself. "Close, but no. It was worse, during training I know I can get you by simply overwhelming you with a rain of fire. But this fight, just impossible; [BILLION MAIDEN] didn't work, [MEGA DETH PARTY] neither, you deflect my [RED HOT BLAZE] from a blind spot as if it was nothing and don't even let me start with [MEGA DETH FUGA]." I angrily pout by the end of my rant while crossing my arm below my chest.

"Was I, that incredible?" she asks in disbelief.

"Yes, you were! So much that you left me in awe more than once in the middle of the fight. I would have gladly sat back and watched you wreak havoc if I was not your opponent," I let out as I close my eyes, remembering the diverse movements that I almost drooled over before shaking my head to chase these memories away.

"Then, how did I end up waking up, face on the ground with you on top of me?"

My answer was flat and direct. "I punched you."

"Eh?"

"I punched you," I repeat in the same tone.

Blinking several times at my words. "How?" She finally asks.

"Hell if I tell you how I managed to do it. I will keep it to myself for a very, very long time," I say resolutely. At least, until I see her pouting, I have to quickly avert my eyes before my resolve begins to crumble.

After a moment of Hibiki trying to nag me into answering she lets out a sigh. "Fine," Hearing this, I finally release a sigh of relief, I was not sure how long I could have lasted if she had kept it up.

I was unable to say anything more as Hibiki yawned. 'The events must be catching up on her,' I thought before putting my hand on her head and resuming the stroking, "Come on, let's sleep, we still have tomorrow left to enjoy."

She hums in agreement as she settles herself into her original position, nuzzling against my sides before softly saying, "Good night, Chris."

"Sleep well, Hibiki," I answer her in the same soft tone before I finally close my eyes while I keep stroking Hibiki's hair, my hand coming to a natural stop once I fall asleep.